Benefits Blogs & News

For about 4 years, my daughter had been cheer leading with a local association league. I've had the pleasure of both coaching, and cheering my daughter's squads on.Last year, during competition, they had a move called a "Show and Go". What happens is 4-5 girls gather at the back of the mat, interlock their fingers together and squat down. The flyer, who is the little one who goes up in the air, jumps onto the girls hands, she is lifted up, and does a cute little "swoosh" with her arm from left to right. The girls then gently set her back down and move on to the next move. Over the last year in speaking with many companies I have found that these executives relationships with their benefits broker is much like a "show and go"....they show up around renewal, present a few alternatives that will generally cut back on the benefits to get the premium down, obtain a decision, and go off to their next client, and 'see you next year'; all the while collecting a commission all year long (a 25 employee company yields approximately $7500/yr in commission).I have been advising and designing benefits strategies for my clients for a number of years. Its what I love, and there is always a missing piece to the puzzle I passionately work to find and resolve. This fall, I launched my own agency on a huge step of faith. Ten years in direct sales and 5 years with an insurance agency, has taught me not to "sell"...I'd rather just share ideas & consult.A good benefits consultant will see past just the 'insurance' piece. A great consultant realizes something of value should be given back for that commission. The 'insurance' is about 20% of the total puzzle. The other 80% is what makes your employee benefits STRATEGY sustainable. Your employees have greater choice, they are highly engaged, and they will see the VALUE from the benefit programs you offer. So I am curious? If I were to ask you to describe YOUR employee benefits strategy? What would you say? What value are you receiving from the commissions your broker receives? I'd love to hear from you...and even help you further develop, define, and implement a sustainable strategy that swings the pendulum from show and go's and cut backs to an on-going consulting relationship and benefit upgrades!